Day 113, Tuesday, November 29, Salina
As preparation for my long road trips, because of the risks involved and the vast distances from home, i work up contingency plans, building on the one i developed for my first trip in 2000, when i listed 100 things that could go wrong and either did something to reduce the risks, prepared for them, agreed to accept them, or dismissed them outright.
Before i left for this trip, as i worked through my contingency plan, i moved additional cash into my transactions bank account, moved all my appointments farther into November, and rehearsed some contingency plans,among other things, all in support of the question, what if something happens to the Defender on this trip? I had little reason to believe that anything would, especially since on all seven of my previous trips (14 months and 100,000 miles in total) there was only one serious issue with the Defender (in Newfoundland on OTR 3 in 2002), i had maintained the Defender extremely well over its 23 years with me, put the Defender through a rigorous 50 point checkout, spent thousands correcting problems and improving the Defender, and my mechanic gave it a clean bill of health to go on this trip. Yet, my rear differential blows back oil into the air locker, four lug nuts are found loose on my rear left wheel, my distrubutor goes out on me in New Brunswick, one windshield wiper mysteriously flies off during acrain storm in British Columbia, my engine conks out on me in the Yukon, my new ignition coil gets fried in a remote desert camp in Nevada, a day later my fuel pump gets fried just as i was about to enter I-70 for the final ride home, and then the Defender will not start for some still unknown reason. What's going on here?
I asked the independet land rover specialist who sold me my new engine this last question and his answer was, "it's a land rover, i hear these stories every day." Now i find out. But depite this phenomenon and what i have experienced, i have zero regrets getting the Defender to begin with, and zero regrets about taking this trip. In fact, it's just the reverse. While i cannot say i am thrilled that what has happened happened, it has been an experience like i have not had before, with whatever good will come from this.
That having been said, today, as soon as i changed one aspect of my plan, don't leave the Defender behind, i took the initial if not penultimate steps to achieve my number one goal of this trip, which is to get Donner and me home safely. Specufically,
- i booked Donner on the 9:45 Delta flight to DC on Saturday;
- i booked myself on the same flight ;
- i booked a room nearby the Salt Lake City airport for Friday at dog-friendly LaQuintas Hotel
- i reserved an Enterprise rental car to get to Salt Lake City;
- i arranged for Fed Ex to pick up four cartons of gear that i do not want lef in the Defender and so i am sending home separately;
- i sent off some parcels to home from the Post Office;
- I phoned Andy to ask if he would manage in my absence the loading of the Defender onto the auto transport trailer whenever it arrives.
In other words, the end game of this trip, quite different from the end games of all prior trips, has begun. Until now, this experience was in my mind's eye only; now it is part of my experience.
The good news to report today is both of Donner's maladies, his "bedsores" and gastro probelms seem to be completely cured. Just in time for our exit.
In addition to working towards closing up shop here in less than three days, i need to polish off two contingency plans concerning problems that might show up when the trailer arrives to take the Defender, and what happens if that Delta cargo former-schoolmarm rejects Donner for the plane ride because his ears are a half inch too long.
Another series of chores i accomplished today in the end game was to reopen aspects of my life back in DC all starting Sunday, e.g, unfroze my sports club membership, renewed my subscriotions to the NY Times, Washington Post, The Economist, and other such things, reopened my rarely used Netflix account, unsuspended my subscription to my Russian TV service, and so on. In other words, today was the first day in almost four months that i am actually seeing an end to this journey.
Despite the interruptions during this journey, on which we will have spent 59 days in layovers and 58 days on the road, nothing short of personal injury to Donner or me could diminish for one second the joy of driving the long open road with my dog, camping in some of the most beautftul places on this planet, and meeting some incredible people - and dogs- I would never have otherwise met. The beauty experienced on this trip could not have been much better, but the setbacks could have been much worse. I am thankful for both of these things.
More tomorrow.
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